The Bounty
by thelonelysnowelf
Summary: The powerful Sith Lord Darth Trepidus learns of a huge bounty placed on his head by an unknown party. He and his apprentice Jaesa Willsaam head to a penthouse in Kaas City to investigate their only lead.


"My Lord?" Lieutenant Pierce called from the doorway of the darkened supply room in which Darth Trepidus was meditating, aboard his Fury-class ship _The Unrelenting._ "We're here, but we just received an encoded transmission as we landed. It's showing Imperial Intelligence codes, but I can't identify the origin."

"Isn't that somewhat to be expected from Imperial Intelligence?" Trepidus said, opening his eyes. "Alright, get it decoded and we'll see what this is all about."

He got up slowly, switching the lights back on with the Force. He stopped to put on his gauntlets and his open-faced helmet, giving Pierce a few minutes to get the message decoded. He strode into the ship's central room a few moments later and nodded to Pierce. Pierce pushed a button on the holoterminal in the centre of the room and it flared to life, a life-size hologram of a female Chiss in Imperial Intelligence uniform hovering in the air, her hands behind her back.

"Greetings, my Lord," she said, her voice slightly distorted due to the encryption. "Imperial Intelligence recently intercepted a communication between two different bounty hunting agencies, concerning a bounty of several million credits which has apparently been placed on your head. As of yet we don't know who placed it, or really any further details, and command has instructed that we not get involved. The last thing they want us to do is get involved in a fight that is potentially between two Sith Lords. Technically I wasn't even meant to send this message, but having worked with you briefly on Nar Shaddaa, I decided I should probably let you know. You're far too valuable an asset for the Empire to lose. The only lead we got before command shut down the investigation down was that the communication was then forwarded to, among other places we couldn't trace, a location in Kaas City. I've included the coordinates in this transmission, and I suggest you investigate before they realise you're onto them. End transmission." The blue hologram flickered out.

"I've got the coordinates here, my Lord," Pierce said. "Coordinates lead to a penthouse apartment in central Kaas City, not far from the Citadel. Transferring the location to your datapad now."

Darth Trepidus opened the map on his datapad, noting the location of the apartment.

"Will I be accompanying you, my Lord?" Pierce asked.

"That won't be necessary, Pierce. You make sure nothing happens to the ship while I'm gone. We're on high alert until this is dealt with, and I need my escape route clear."

Trepidus' personal holocom bleeped. He unclipped it from his belt and answered it, a small hologram of his apprentice, Jaesa Wilsaam appearing above it.

"Good timing, Jaesa. Change of plans, I need you to meet me in a different place. Pierce will send you the coordinates now."

"If you say so. All I'm gonna say is it better not be like the last time we had an urgent change of plan. Biggest disappointment of my life, besides the time you let that Jedi live on Taris."

"Oh don't worry, there will be plenty of excitement this time."

"We'll see," Jaesa said, and closed the link.

* * *

Darth Trepidus arrived at the open square in front of the tower on foot to find Jaesa already there waiting for him, leaning against her black Aratech Scythe speeder bike, spinning the hilt of her saberstaff idly in her left hand. She looked over at him as he approached, but made no move to get up.

"Nice bike," Trepidus said.

"Thanks. I decided to treat myself, and it's not like credits are an issue for me. So, what's so important that we had to cancel our little trip? It better be worth it."

"Does a multimillion credit bounty on my head count as 'worth it'?"  
Jaesa's expression became slightly more serious. "I think that might just about qualify. Where did you hear about this from?"

"An Imperial Intelligence operative thought I should know. Command disagreed, so we're without support."

"I guess we're taking the lift then?"

* * *

The lift doors opened silently and the two Sith stepped out into the entrance hall of the penthouse. The room was unfurnished, but through the archway leading into the main room Trepidus could see a mess of computer screens and several large crates. This was definitely the right place.

"I don't feel anyone here, Master. Let's get whatever information is on those computers and get out of here." Jaesa started making her way over to the next room. "I have a bad feeling about this place."  
Trepidus blinked in surprise. "It's not like you to want to avoid conflict, Jae-"  
He was cut off by the sound of a lightsaber igniting. It took him a moment to realise it was at his own throat.

"I thought you said there was no one here," he said calmly, looking at the blue blade by his neck while trying not to move his head.

"Quiet, Sith," a harsh voice said just behind his head, impossible to identify through some sort of helmet filter. "And don't you move either, girl." Jaesa moved her hand away from the lightsaber on her belt. "That's better. Now – AH!"

The assailant yelled in pain and dropped the lightsaber as Jaesa unleashed a blast of Force lightning, striking the assailant's wrist. The blade clattered to the floor and deactivated, and Trepidus leapt away, spinning to face the attacker, lightsaber drawn and ignited. But Jaesa was already upon him, hacking at the armoured attacker with her saberstaff. She quickly realised that her blade wasn't even denting the armour and changed tactics. She deactivated one blade, wielding the remaining blade with both hands and beating relentlessly on the attacker from all directions, driving them to the ground under the sheer force of her attacks, the figure trying to shield themselves with their arms. Only when the figure lay still did she cease her attack, extinguishing her blade, stepping back and collapsing backwards onto the floor, breathless from exertion.

Trepidus stepped forwards, extinguishing his blade too, and nudged the motionless figure with the toe of his boot. He knelt down and pulled of the figure's helmet, revealing the face of a young female Rattataki, clearly dead, her eyes open and lifeless. He turned and looked at Jaesa, a look on his face of disapproval mixed with awe.

"You know, Jaesa," he said irritably, "people are much easier to interrogate when they're, you know, alive." Jaesa lifted her head and shoulders to look at him, still panting, rolled her eyes and flopped back onto the floor.  
Darth Trepidus shook his head, glanced down at the corpse of the Rattataki assassin, and made his way over to the bank of computers in the other room, determined to make sense of the situation somehow.


End file.
